Professor of English

Office: Fretwell 290D
Phone: 704.687.4229
Email:

Education

• Ph.D. Bowling Green State University , 1983
• M.E.A.S. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, 1980
• B.A. Franconia College , 1975

Areas of Interest

• Children's literature; Children's popular culture; History of childhood

Selected Publications and Presentations

Books:
M. I. West. A Children's Literature Tour of Great Britain . Lanham , Maryland : Scarecrow Press, 2003.

M. I. West, ed. Helen Hunt Jackson : Selected Colorado Writings . Palmer Lake , Colorado : Filter Press, 2002.

M. I. West and Lucy Rollin. Psychoanalytic Responses to Children's Literature . Jefferson , North Carolina : McFarland, 1999.

M. I. West. Everyone's Guide to Children's Literature . Fort Atkinson , Wisconsin : Highsmith Press, 1997.

M. I. West, ed. Westward to a High Mountain : The Colorado Writings of Helen Hunt Jackson . Denver : Colorado Historical Society, 1994.

M. I. West, ed. A Wondrous Menagerie: Animal Fantasy Stories from American Children's Literature . Hamden , Connecticut : Archon Books, 1994.

M. I. West. Wellsprings of Imagination: The Homes of Children's Authors . New York : Neal-Schuman, 1992.

M. I. West. Roald Dahl . New York : Twayne Publishers, 1992. CD-ROM version published by Macmillan Library Reference, 1997.

M. I. West, ed. Before Oz: Juvenile Fantasy Stories from Nineteenth-Century America . Hamden , Connecticut : Archon Books, 1989.

M. I. West. Trust Your Children: Voices Against Censorship in Children's Literature . New York : Neal-Schuman, 1988. Expanded second edition published in 1997.

M. I. West. Children, Culture, and Controversy . Hamden , Connecticut : Archon Books, 1988.

Recent Articles:
M. I. West. “Reflections on Rereading The Wind in the Willows .” The Dragon Lode 25.1 (2006): 24-25.

M. I. West. “Making Hogwartian Dreams Come True: Reflections on Running a Harry Potter Summer Camp.” The Dragon Lode 23.1 (2004): 49-51.

M. I. West. “Godzilla and His Progeny: Why American Children Like Japanese Monsters.” South Carolina Review 36.2 (2004): 154-158.

M. I. West. "Helen Hunt Jackson 's Nelly's Silver Mine : A Lost Treasure Reclaimed." The Lion and the Unicorn 28.1 (2004): 70-76.

M. I. West. “Images of Mothers in Beatrix Potter's Picture Books.” The Dragon Lode 21.2 (2003): 1-6.

M. I. West. “The Home of Beatrix Potter and the Potential of Geographical Criticism.” South Carolina Review 35.2 (2003): 157-163.

M. I. West. "Martin Gardner: North Carolina 's Annotator of Alice and Historian of Oz." North Carolina Literary Review 10 (2001): 92-96.

M. I. West. "Fantasy Literature for Children: Past, Present, and Future Tensions." Journal of Children's Literature 26.2 (2000): 35-39.

M. I. West. "The Dakota Fairy Tales of L. Frank Baum." South Dakota History 30.1 (2000): 134-154.

Courses Taught

Undergraduate:

• English 3103 Children's Literature
• English 3104 Literature for Adolescents
• English 3102 Literature for Young Children
• English 4102 Classics in British Children's Literature
• English 4103 Classics in American Children's Literature

Graduate:

• English 6103 Juvenile Literature
• English 6103 Major Figures in Children's Literature
• English 6090 Children's Literature Award Winners

Professional Appointments

Faculty appointments:

• UNC Charlotte since 1984
• Washburn University of Topeka, 1893-84

Administrative appointments:

• Interim Chair of the Department of Art and Art History, UNC Charlotte , 2007
• Associate Dean for General Education, UNC Charlotte , 2002-07
• Director of the American Studies Program, UNC Charlotte , 1992-2002
• Graduate Coordinator of English M.A. Program, UNC Charlotte, 1990-92

Professional Service

• Book Review Editor, Children's Literature Association Quarterly , 2000-present
• Editor, The Five Owls , 1999-2006
• President, Children's Literature Association, 2000-01